Month: June 2017

Scammers never sleep. We don’t know how they can sleep at night doing what they do, but there are still several scams going on where the caller is impersonating the IRS.

Current Scams still occurring include:

-Private debt collectors calling to collect past due taxes, pretending to be in partnership with the IRS.

-Con artists calling you and demanding you pay back taxes with a pre-paid debit card supposedly connected the the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, but which is their debit card getting your money instead of the IRS.

-Robo-calls demanding you pay your taxes or you will be arrested. NOTE: The IRS never leaves pre-recorded messages for anyone.

-Thieves calling taxpayers with limited English-speaking skills calling and speaking in their native languages claiming they will be deported if they do not pay their taxes.

We know the next schemes to come will likely be different, but for now- these are just some of the ones to watch for. Please be aware and be safe.

If you did not call the IRS yourself to resolve a matter, or to get/give tax payment information, Do Not Give Anyone any information about your household, or the names of people in it, or any personal information, or banking information. If you have any questions about someone calling you for payment, please contact your local IRS office and alert your bank if you feel that you may have given the caller any bit of your banking information.

Just Anounced: Anthem will not be offering Affordable Care Act plans on the federal exchange in Indiana in 2018. At this time it appears that it will only be offering off-exchange (subsidy in-eligible) plans in 5 counties: Benton, Newton, White, Jasper and Warren.

Additionally, MD Wise has announced they will not be offering ACA plans in Indiana in 2018. It will instead be focusing on its Medicaid business.

The loss of these insurers in 2018, in the ACA market, will affect about 76,800 Hoosiers.

“The federal deadline for insurers to file rate proposals with the federal government is June 21. Many insurers had been hoping that the Trump administration would say for certain whether it would continue to pay cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies for covering low-income enrollees.

“No such assurances from the administration appear to be coming, leaving insurers with a difficult choice.

“Next week’s filings will give the most comprehensive look yet at what the ObamaCare markets could look like next year. It’s not clear whether the Trump administration will make the requests public, though sometimes individual states will release the information for their insurers.

“Still, early filings already show several insurers requesting double-digit rate increases. Some have already announced they won’t participate in the law’s marketplaces next year, leaving an unprecedented 47 counties with no options on the exchanges for 2018.

“‘We’ve seen so far pretty high premium increases in a number of states. Some of that seems to be because of uncertainty insurers are facing over CSR payments and individual mandate enforcement,’ said Cynthia Cox, an insurance expert with the Kaiser Family Foundation.” Source: The Hill.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is actively working to reduce regulatory burdens and improve health insurance options under Title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Executive Order 13765, “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal,” directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to achieve these aims. HHS seeks comment from interested parties to inform its ongoing efforts to create a more patient-centered health care system that adheres to the key principles of affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, and empowerment.

According to a study by the American Medical Association only 47.1% of practicing physicians had an ownership stake in their practice last year. This is the first time in American history that less than half of physicians owned their practices. Many factors were cited as reasons for the change, and among them were the market effects of payment models, information technology requirements, compliance costs, etc. Source: Modern Healthcare.